Try for real immigration reform

View full size"Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the progress my administration has already made â putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years," said President Obama. Associated Press

Both President Obama and a majority of members of Congress support immigration reform. And they agree there is a growing need to decide the fate of the 11 million illegal immigrants in America.

Then, too, there is agreement in Washington that a cornerstone of any new immigration-reform legislation must be securing our borders once and for all; otherwise, the flood of illegals won't stop.

In his State of the Union address, the president called for steps to tighten the border, crack down on hiring illegal immigrants, establish a pathway to citizenship for those already here and streamline legal processing — all worthy initiatives.

Mr. Obama declared, "Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the progress my administration has already made — putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years."

In the Republican response, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida stated, "We need a responsible, permanent solution to the problem of those who are here illegally. But first, we must follow through on the broken promises of the past to secure our borders and enforce our laws."

What more needs to be done to ward off or turn back illegal newcomers? It's a question that could turn into a political dispute and delay or block immigration reform.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico fell from about 500,000 per year between March 2000 and March 2005 to about 150,000 per year between March 2007 and March 2009.

But the reasons behind that trend are up for debate and the level of border security today isn't clear.

Until fiscal 2010, the Department of Homeland Security had defined "effective" operational control of the border as "the ability to detect, respond, and interdict illegal activity at the border or after entry into the United States." Before that measure was dropped by the U.S. Border Patrol, the government reported it had just 57 percent of southern border under "effective" control.

"I do not believe the border is secure and I still believe we have a long, long way to go," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) during a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform.

However, in her testimony, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, "Too often the border security refrain simply serves as an excuse, Our borders have in fact never been stronger."

There were just over 340,000 apprehensions at the U.S. border in 2011, the fewest since 1971. Stepped up U.S. vigilance since 9/11 is one reason.

Another key factor is thought to be decreased U.S. hiring since the Great Recession. The demand for and tolerance of low-wage and off-the-books labor in the United States has lured illegal immigrants for decades.

There has been no lack of federal spending to deal with unauthorized aliens, either at the borders or beyond.

In fiscal 2012, the U.S. government spent nearly $18 billion on immigration enforcement, about 24 percent higher than the combined spending for the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Immigration reform will be seriously undermined if America doesn't gain full control of its borders.

Unfortunately, even if border security is tightened, the problem of illegal newcomers won't go away.

Nearly half of the unauthorized immigrants in the United States entered the country with legitimate visas but didn't leave when their documents expired. That's another issue entirely beyond the question of securing our borders, which is why attaining real immigration reform has proved so elusive.